Bladensburg
by
a veteran of the battle
Jon Pendelton Kennedy
Part 1
�We marched on Sunday, the twenty first-our regiment, the fifth-accompanied by a battalion of the riflemen, commanded by William Pinckney, then recently returned from England, where he had been a minister for several years, and now, Attorney General of the United States. We had also with us a company of Artillery, commanded by Richard Mcgruder, another member of the bar, and a small Corps of Cavalry of the Baltimore Light Dragoons---Harry Thompson�s company---the detachment being under the command of Lieutenant Jacob Hollingsworth.
�A portion of Sterritt Ridgely�s Hussars were also in the detachment. These were all volunteers of the city. My father was a member of Hollingsworth�s command, and, with John Brown, an old schoolmate of mine, and three or four privates of the corps, served as videttes to our brigade.
�It was a day of glorious anticipation, that Sunday morning; when, with all the glitter of a dress parade, we set forth on our march. As we moved through the streets, the pavements were crowded with anxious spectators,; the windows were filled with women; friends were rushing to the ranks to bid us good-bye--- many exhorting us to be of good cheer and do our duty; handkerchiefs were waving from the fair hands at the windows--- some few of the softer sex weeping as they waved adieux to husbands and brothers; the populace were cheering and huzzahing at every corner, as we hurried along at a brisk step to familiar music, with banners fluttering in the wind and bayonets flashing in the sun. What a scene it was, and what a proud actor I was in it! I was in the ecstasy of a vision of glory, stuffed with any quantity of romance. This was the real army marching to a real war. The enemy we knew, was in full career, and we had the certainty of meeting him in a few days. Unlike our customary parades, our march now had all the equipment of a campaign. Our wagon train was on the road; our cartridge-boxes were filled; we had our crowd of camp servants and followers. Officers rode back-wards and forwards along the flanks of the column, with a peculiar air of urgent business, as if it required everything to b done at a gallop--- the invariable form in which military conceit shows itself in the first movements of a campaign. The young officers wish attract attention, and so seem to be always on the most important messages. As for me--- not yet nineteen--- I was to full of exultation of the time to think of myself --- all my fervor was spent on admiration of this glittering army.
�It were worth ten years of peaceful life
One glance at their army�
�I thought of these verses, and they spoke of my delight. It was not long before we were outside of the town, in full career on the Washington Road. It was afternoon in warm August weather when we started. By sundown we reached Elk Ridge landing, and there turned in upon the flat meadow ground that lies under the hills upon the further banks of the Patapsco, to pitch our tents for the night. Camp-kettles were served out to us and our portions of pork and hard bread. We formed our messes that evening, and mine, consisting of six members, who were consigned to one tent, was made up of pleasant companions.
This was all new to us, and very amusing. The company consisted of gentleman of good condition and accustomed to luxurious life, and the idea of a supper of fat pork and a hard biscuit was a pleasant absurdity which we treated as a matter of laughter. We had our own stores in the wagon which we could rely upon when we could get to them, and a short, active negro man as a servant for the mess, whom we took into service that evening from a crowd of stragglers who followed the column of march. The first care after getting our tent up was to hold a consultation about our domestic affairs, and it was then resolved that two of us should in turn serve as house keeper, successively from week to week. The choice to-day fell upon Ned Schroeder and myself. We were to attend to the getting out of the rations and then cook them. The mess was not likely to grow fat under our administration. Upon repairing to the quartermaster for our supplies, we were given a piece of pork of five or six pounds, a new camp kettle, and a quantity of hard biscuit. Ned and I had a consultation upon the process of cooking, the result of which was that we were determined to put our pork into the kettle, to fill this with water to brim, and then to set over a brisk fire for two hours; so we set about it. To make the fire we resolved to signalize our service by that soldierly act which is looked upon as a prescriptive right--- the robbing of the nearest fence of as many rails as suited our purpose--- which we did like veterans, satisfying our conscience with the reflection that some time or other, perhaps, Congress would pay for the damage. We got up a magnificent flame, and by placing our kettle upon a support of stones in the midst, we made sure the cooking would soon become a happy success. This being done, we sauntered off to look at the evening parade, from which our culinary labors gave us exemption. In less than an hour we lounged back to take a look at the kettle. There it was, buried in a mound of hot coals, the water all boiled out, and the iron red hot. In the bottom of this lurid pot we discovered a black mess which seemed to be reduced to a stratum of something resembling a compound of black soap in a semi-liquid state, and on drawing the kettle out of the fire, and cooling it off as quickly as we could, by setting it in water, we came to the perception that our supper, or at least as much of it as we had cooked, was a compost of charred bones, and a deposit of black fat, the whole platted over with the scales of iron which heat had brought of in flakes from the kettle. Our comrades of the mess gathered around the ruin with amused interest, and we wee voted a diploma for our admirable experiment in the dressing of pork. We had found our companies wagon by the time this experiment had so finely concluded, and with help of Elijah, or Lige--- as our servant was called--- found a very good resource for supper without the aid of pork. We had coffee and chocolate, good bread and ham in abundance. The night was chilly
